Not all haunted houses are created equal. If you want to have the best spooky space on the block, you can't just wing it. You have to start preparing now - which is why we created a couple of fun decor collections to inspire you: Ghostly Victorian Mansion and Frightful Farmhouse.
It's also important to draw from your own personal style when creating your devilish design. Not sure what that means? Here are five haunted "house" ideas that play off your personal style.
1. Haunted Lighthouse
A lighthouse might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Halloween, but it is one of our favorite spooky haunted "house" locations. If your tastes skew more toward nautical or coastal, this is theme you should use.
How to:
Bring in a palette of darker blues and grays, and use rope accents that look worn-and-weathered to create an eerie atmosphere filled with the ghosts of shipwrecked sailors. You can even add a bit of shabby chic style to the room with weathered trunks and chairs.
What you'll need:
2. Victorian Mansion
Anyone who loves vintage and industrial looks will enjoy creating this type of haunted house. A little steampunk and a little victorian, it's the perfect way to create a space worthy of housing the maddest of scientists.
Channel your inner curious collector retronaut and display skulls, taxidermy, insects, and tinctures on steel shelves or in antiqued shadow boxes. Bring in vintage posters advertizing potions and fortune tellers, and use statement pieces like black crow bookends or skeleton décor to really bring the feeling to life.
You can find everything to create this look here.
What you'll need:
3. Frightful Farmhouse
Love that rustic, country-living look? This is the haunted house for you. Weathered wood dressers and side tables, farming accents like a wheelbarrow, and patina'd light fixtures are suddenly made scary with haunting photographs of a ghosts wandering through the neighboring fields or a jack o' lantern grinning from its perch.
With accessories like scarecrows, leafless trees, and pitchforks, you'll instantly transform your charming rustic farmhouse into a frightful home--perfect for the upcoming holiday.
Find more on this look here.
What you'll need:
4. Classically Spooky
The classic haunted house is one that many of us grew up with. You know, the kind with spaghetti brains and olive eyeballs. Eek! Perfect for the mid-century fanatic, this haunted house look works well with retro designs.
This is the perfect time to break out all of those figurines you've been collecting over the years; place those ceramic black cats on countertops, and little cherubs on top of your fireplace mantel. Cutouts of bats, owls, and other creatures can do wonders for your walls, and transport guests from today into a retro room of fright.
What you'll need:
5. Eerily Eclectic
If you have a bohemian spirit, your haunted house should be eerily eclectic. Draw on your love of layering, but use darker fabrics to bring out the spooky side of the textiles. Don't be afraid to mix in all sorts of Halloween décor like cobwebs, Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls, striped stockings, and printed fabrics draping down from your walls.
Don't forget about the plants that are probably already in your house. Keep these same draping vines, but also bring in dark roses or flowers that have ceased to live. Place these in shimmering vases that will catch in the mysterious light of the candles and that flicker in this colorful haunted house.
What you'll need:
Ready to create your own haunted house? Just remember that you don't have to change your style just to get that spooky look. Instead, play off your personal tastes to add a little fright to your already fabulous house.
For more Halloween inspiration, check out Dot & Bo's Design District.